Schrödinger's Elephant: The brain-twisting paradoxes facing Republicans on health care reform

[marmar]

from Slate:




Schrödinger's Elephant
The brain-twisting paradoxes facing Republicans on health care reform.

By Christopher Beam
Posted Monday, June 15, 2009, at 1:04 PM ET


One reason health care is so hard to talk about sanely is that it's full of paradoxes. How does the United States have one of the best health care systems in the world, yet also one of the worst? Why do regions with the shoddiest health care pay the most for it? If we're trying to save money on health care, how come we're gearing up to pay roughly $1 trillion for reform?

Similar paradoxes plague both parties. But the questions facing Republicans as they navigate the health care debate are especially difficult. Here are some of the trickiest ones. If you really want to rattle a conservative's mind, ask these:

Do you think health care reform is necessary?

The message on all sides is that yes, our health care system needs to be fixed. The United States already spends way too much on care—$1 out of every $6—and costs will only keep trending upward. More than 40 million Americans still don't have health insurance. And many of those who need it are denied treatment for pre-existing conditions.

Republicans get this. The GOP alternative plan released in May hit all the right rhetorical notes, talking about the "broken" system in which patients feel "trapped" while doctors feel "torn" between business and medicine. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.slate.com/id/2220296/

[damntexdem]

1. The obvious answer to the Schrodinger's Elephant problem is to ...

put the GOP politicians in boxes, then don't bother to wonder whether or not they exist, just don't open the boxes.

Oh, wait! We don't have to do anything. They're putting themselves into those boxes.